Ancient Human-Animal Interactions in Chachapoyas Region: Isotopic Analysis of Zooarchaeological Remains from Kuelap, Peru

Summary

This study uses isotopic analysis of fauna remains as a proxy for reconstructing the ancient Chachapoya environment of the northeastern highlands in Peru. Large middens have been excavated at the monumental center of Kuelap (900-1535 CE), yet there is little previous research focused on the fauna remains at this or other archaeological contexts in the region. The goal of this project was to reconstruct animal resource exploitation and provide insight into dietary variation and environment at 3000 masl. This study models animal diets using δ13C and δ15N values from bone collagen of various local species including camelids, deer, guinea pigs, viscacha, rabbits, birds, canids, river otter, and puma to investigate the range of isotopic variation within and between animals with different dietary regimes. These faunal isotope values support local expectations for foodweb research and fall into distinct niches in the foodscape of the environment. Differences in diet between domesticated and wild animals (specifically llama and deer) were not identified, suggesting no provisioning from possible domestic crops (maize, C4) by humans. These are the first isotopic data for the eastern montane region and serve as an important baseline in the evaluation of human subsistence strategies and animal husbandry.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21680